As Kenya’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, Martha Koome played a key role in the decision to uphold William Ruto as president-elect.
Many online have been praising her for her work, describing her as a “hero” and as a deliverer of justice.
So, who exactly is she?
The 62-year-old’s journey started off in Meru in rural eastern Kenya where she was born into a polygamous family.
“I am a villager in the truest sense. My parents were peasant farmers and we were 18 children from two mothers. So, for all of us, especially girls – it was a struggle to overcome the odds,” she has previously said about her upbringing.
Her appointment as chief justice in May 2021, came as a surprise, but she came top of 10 candidates interviewed in front of a live television audience by Kenya’s Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
She won the panel over with her calm and confident tone during a four-hour grilling, in which she was described as a “breath of fresh air”.
Recognised worldwide, Justice Koome was runner-up for the UN’s Kenya Person of the Year Award in 2020 for her work on children’s rights.
Source: BBC
